The Future is Bleak...
by RockytheHercules
Summary: My crazy Dark Angel/Metal Gear Solid crossover. I only used things from the original MGS, not MGSII, because that just got weird. It's about the whole virus thing. Please read and review. Chapter 3 is up. Fic is OOC and PWP in end but is finished!!!
1. Believe...

Disclaimer:  
I do not own Dark Angel nor do I own Metal Gear Solid. I do not own them nor the  
characters portrayed in them. I do not claim to own them. Don't sue me, please,  
I'm really really poor. By the way, this piece of work is Copyrighted by   
Rocky Valkyrie 2002, all rights reserved etc. etc. Rockythehercules@yahoo.com  
  
AUTOR'S NOTE:  
This fanfic is not very good. I can tell you that in advance. Any and all   
convulsions, regurgitations, vomiting, swearing and etc. cannot be attributed  
to me or my Fic. Legally. Please? ;;^_~ Enjoy the fic, if and only if you can.  
Also, I aplogize for my last fics, which was really REALLY bad. Smoking is   
hazardous both to your health and to your sanity. Especially weed.  
  
The Future is Bleak- Believe...  
Based loosely on Dark Angel, and includes characters from Metal Gear Solid  
By Rocky Valkyrie  
  
"Another one?" she asks, shivers running down her spine.   
  
He is surprised by her voice, since the silence right before was deafening,   
"Third one this week. And there were others, too."  
  
"What's been happening to them?" she asks, almost fearing what was to  
follow.  
  
"Practically what will happen to me if you touch me." he says, looking back  
over his shoulder at her finally.  
  
"Oh... what is this... this disease that we got?" she asks.  
  
"I don't know, Max. If I knew..." he says, with desperation in his voice,  
"...then I'd try to do something about it."  
  
"What are we going to do, Logan?" Max asks, almost managing hope.  
  
"There's nothing we can do. But," Logan answers, "I might know someone who  
does."  
  
That night, after returning from another inspection of a report to 'Eyes Only,'  
Logan sits down on his couch, tired as usual, and frustrated. He is frustrated not only  
by the puzzling cases of the elusive virus, but also is frustrated because feels almost  
useless; he feels like he can't do anything.  
  
His cell phone rings, and he picks it up. "Hello?" he greets.  
  
"Hey, Logan." the voice says.  
  
"Ahhh... the elusive Dr. Emmerich." Logan answers, jokingly.  
  
"They call me Otacon nowadays..." 'Otacon' says.  
  
"Who are these 'they' you're talking about?" Logan asks.  
  
"FOX-HOUND... and, of course, an old friend of yours." Otacon answers.  
  
"It can't be... he's back?!?" Logan asks, surprisedly.  
  
"Yep. You might want to call him. Oh, and about that virus you asked me about  
before, the two aren't the same. They're very similar, but they're a bit different."  
Otacon explains.  
  
"How so... 'Otacon?'" asks Logan, now completely taken by the conversation.  
  
"The one being used in those days is the 'FoxDie.' Your "person"'s one is a   
variation of the FoxDie, developed by a few prominent biotechnicians, it was to be used  
in DNA-specific assasinations. In failed missions, that is." Otacon explains.  
  
"...and?" Logan asks, immersed in the conversation.  
  
"Well... a new string of the FoxDie, similar to the one your Max has been  
carrying around, has been developed and is out there. Supposedly FOX-HOUND created  
it to kill all those who were carriers of the original FoxDie." Otacon says.  
  
"W-Wait. What? I don't get it..." Logan says, suddenly realizing his confusion.  
  
"To put it simply, there are 3 strings of FoxDie. The original one was created  
to kill specific persons in the Rex operation. Then a new string was developed to   
take care of 'breeding problems' like the one used on your Max. Now, a new, final one  
has been created that will kill all those who carried the original FoxDie. This is all  
supposedly to control the intelligence surrounding the Rex operation and the details  
of the FoxDie." Otacon explains.  
  
"Hmmm... so Manticore used it to control breeding problems?" Logan rationalizes.  
  
"Actually, according to our reports, the one named Alec is the one responsible."  
Otacon says.  
  
"That wouldn't surprise me. But how... why, even?" Logan asks.  
  
Otacon giggles, then says, "It's not like that's something that's strange. Didn't  
you say it yourself? He's an idiot. How? Well... he probably got it from the Manticore  
guys, and he probably used it on her sometime. Why... that's something I can't quite put  
my finger on."  
  
"Well... is there anything else you can tell me?" Logan anticipates.  
  
"No. Well, till next time." Otacon says.  
  
"Alright then. Bye." Logan says, with finality and desperation.  
  
Logan dials another number. He then speaks up, "Hello?"  
  
A woman answers, with a light voice, almost cheery, "Logan?"  
  
"Mei Ling?" Logan answers.  
  
"Hi! I haven't heard from you in the longest time! So what do you want?" Mei Ling  
asks.  
  
"I'm sorry it's not to talk to you." Logan confesses, "I need to know how to  
contact HIM."  
  
"Emmerich told you, didn't he?" Mei Ling asks.  
  
"Yeah. I asked about the... w-what's it called again? ...'FoxDie?'" Logan states.  
  
"Uh-huh," Mei Ling answers methodically, munching something, "I'll send it your  
way."  
  
"Can't you just tell me it?" Logan asks.  
  
"Nope. Protocol. You know how it is at FOX-HOUND." she says.  
  
"Okay. But no snail-mail. I need it quick." Logan says.  
  
"Uhhh... but one thing before you go..." Mei Ling says, hesitantly.  
  
"Yes?" Logan continues.  
  
She hesitates again, then says, "H-he's... he, h-he... he's got this thing."  
  
"'This thing?' What thing?" Logan asks, not really asking, but just puzzled.  
  
Mei Ling sighs, then with exhasperation, says, "He had the FoxDie, too."  
  
"Does that mean he can't touch me either?" Logan asks, almost jokingly.  
  
"That's not it," Mei Ling says, hope disappearing entirely, "it means he'll die if  
he comes in contact with whatever it is that's killing all these people. The 3S FoxDie."  
  
"Oh... so he's in danger, too?" Logan asks.  
  
"FOX-HOUND declared him a rogue. Dangerous, they say, to our operations." Mei Ling   
tries to explain, breifly, "And so he's on his own mission. To take whoever it is that's   
killing the original carriers out."  
  
"And I trust he's got help..." Logan says, voice drifting now.  
  
"Not from us, though," Mei Ling explains, "Except under the table."  
  
"...'Otacon'?" Logan states.  
  
"Who else?" Mei Ling says, "...but that's not it. It's about him and--"  
  
At this point the connection cuts off. It goes full of static, for a half a second,  
then it cuts off completely. Logan shouts a few greetings at his cellphone, with no luck,  
and turns it off. He shouts a few obscenities, and dials the number again. This time there  
is no response. Logan, frustrated, knows that she got caught. But no one would do anything  
to her because she knows too much just to let it all slip away because of that.  
  
A few days afterwards, Logan recieves a discreet postcard, which looks a lot like  
a normal everyday postcard. But there is an encrypted message on there. It takes Logan a   
while, he isn't at the moment fluent in encrypted Latin, but he finally makes it out. Logan  
then tries to contact Solid Snake.  
  
The scenery is unfamilliar to him; just the way it is everyday. He is never in the  
same place two days in a row. It's not his choice, but that's the way it has to be. The  
carrier of the third and second strings are a threat to him. Without knowing, those carriers  
are killing the ones exposed to the original FoxDie. Like him. What he needs to do, his   
mission, if you will, is to take those carriers out. He is sitting on the steps right outside  
the alley entrance to a chinese food restaurant. He looks distantly at the garbage dumps.  
  
He gets up roughly, hands on his knees. He coughs, and reaches into one of the pockets  
of his blue jeans. Out of it, he grabs his keys and he starts walking towards the dark blue  
pickup truck waiting for him. He gets inside and starts the car when his phone rings. He  
picks it up and puts it to his ear.   
  
He answers in a hoarse voice, "Who is it?"  
  
"Hey, you! Is that any way to answer an old friend?" Logan's voice projects into the  
hollow night.  
  
"Logan. Haven't heard from you in forever. Look, we need to talk..." he says, sort of  
sounding like he wants to postpone their talk, "...but I've got something to do."  
  
"Yeah, Mei Ling told me about it." Logan doesn't say much more.  
  
"I'm right on their tails, don't worry. They'll be taken care of, then we'll have  
our little talk," he says, assuming that Mei Ling told him everything.  
  
"Just the way you like it, Snake." Logan agrees.  
  
"Don't hurt yourself, hero kid." Snake tells him.  
  
"Don't worry, old timer." Logan reassures Snake.  
  
Snake hangs up and starts the car up again. He lights a cigarette, rolling down the  
window. He enjoys it for moments, then lets the smoke out the half-open window. He takes a  
few more almost triumphant puffs, and then scratches the back of his head, tossing the   
cigarette bud out the window. Then he starts to drive off, rolling the window back up. A   
few stray ashes fall on his brown leather jacket, and he dusts himself off. He looks down  
at himself for a second; he doesn't like the checkered shirt he's wearing.   
  
Snake looks back at the road and eyes his map. He sees the red marks on it, marked  
quite sloppily, with circles and barely readable handwriting. He grins to himself; he got  
a great lead on the carriers. The next city, which is also Logan's city, is the city where  
one of them seems to be. Or more than one of them.  
  
He stops off at a nearby redneck bar, asking for directions to the city; he does  
this all without looking out-of-place, seeming to blend in and not attract too much attention.  
Snake then steps out and drives a few more miles. At last, he thinks to himself, a real city.  
He parks, and, looking like a redneck, tries to get into a club. The bouncer tries to stop  
him from getting in by grabbing his shirt, but a simple, powerful punch to the man's elbow  
is all it takes to break it, releasing him. The man stands there, screaming obscenities, and  
Snake throws his half-smoked cigarette at him, burning a part of his face. The other bouncers  
back off slowly, not turning their backs to him, and he walks in, almost nonchalantly.  
  
He looks around, discreetly, quickly, and then he walks to the bar and orders a drink.  
Most of the people he sees are out of it. He does, though, spot one of the DJs, his target.  
He is wearing a state-of-the-art tracking device that makes the carriers look like supernovas.  
He hesitates, he knows he can't too close, and he doesn't want to think about killing him. But  
he has to, before anyone else dies. Like him. After a little while, he walks back to the exit,  
hesitantly, then pulls out his gun and shoots the DJ. A perfect shot. And then he runs. The  
crowd screams in horror, and all he can do is drive away. That makes 3 of the 5. Another 1 is  
rumored also to be in the city. He would meet with Logan in a day. If he made it through the  
night.  
  
Snake wakes up early that morning in his motel room. The woman he wakes up with   
beside him, Kat, is just coyote ugly. Snake hurries down and out of the room. When Kat wakes  
up 2 hours later, she cries herself to sleep. Snake is long gone by then. He is eating brunch,  
waiting for Logan in a small diner, away from the motel where he left Kat.  
  
Logan walks in, the leg muscle booster things giving him a bit of a hard time.   
Snake waves, Logan sees and walks toward him. Just as he sits down, a waitress, dressed in  
a black dress with a white blouse and a white, frilly apron, holding a paper and pencil,  
asks for their order. Snake orders a straight black coffee, and a ham sandwich, while Logan  
orders a coffee with sugar and cream. The waitress walks away and Snake turns his head   
sideways and admires the waitress' butt. Logan clears his throat and Snake turns his   
attention back at Logan.   
  
"Always the straight arrow, aren't you?" Snake asks, in his hoarse voice.  
  
"Better than you. From what you ordered, it seems like you got some last night,"  
Logan muses, knowing Snake very well.  
  
"So...?" Snake demmands.  
  
Logan sighs, saying, "...and already looking for a replacement."  
  
Snake scoffs and lights a cigarette, "Who's buying?"  
  
"I'll do it. But we got to talk." Logan says.  
  
"Sure thing, kid. What's on your mind?" Snake says, eyes positively gleaming, "this  
'bout your little hero girl?"  
  
Logan pouts like a kid in time-out, then tells him, "No-- well, yes-- umm... not  
reall-- uhh, wait. It sort of is... but sort of isn't..."  
  
"Get to the point, kid," Snake demmands.  
  
Logan sighs, pushes up his glasses, then says, "I think she's in trouble, too."  
  
"Hmmm...?" this catches Snake's attention.  
  
"Emmerich says that she's got that FoxDie thing, too. So she'll die, I think, if  
she gets too close to whoever is killing them." Logan says.  
  
"What kind of the stuff is it?" Snake asks.  
  
"What?" Logan says, puzzled.  
  
"Nevermind. Just keep her indoors. I know. Keep her in your room. With you." Snake  
says, in his commanding voice.  
  
"Well, why?" Logan asks.  
  
"Just get her in there quick. I'll have this city's problem solved before the night  
is up." Snake says, "You'll just have to worry about it tonight. I'll meet you back at your  
place around 7, alright?"  
  
"7... okay, gotcha." Logan responds, still confused.  
  
Logan drinks his coffee, Snake eats his sandwich and drinks his coffe, and after   
Logan pays, they leave. Snake tracks down the 4th carrier with his high-tech equipment.  
There's no looking back; he has to kill them or else more will die. Like him.  
  
Max's cell phone rings as she is hopping on rooftops. She settles down quickly and  
takes the call. It's Logan, with no explanation, and he tells her to come to his place and  
to stay there for the day and night. Max refuses because she reminds Logan that if she even  
sneezes on him, he'll drop dead. She insists that she'll be okay till then, then she hangs  
up. She then resumeshopping roofs, and makes her way to Alec's place. upon arrival, she   
demmands something from him.  
  
"Okay, Alec, you talk, or I'll start to whip!" Max demmands.  
  
Alec looks at her, saying, "Not now, Max. I'm in the middle of a--" but the furious  
Max throws a dagger at his cell, knocking it out of his hand. "What do you want?" Alec says,  
now annoyed, his phone nearly broken.  
  
Max cocks up her eyebrows, then says, "Starts spitting out the names on the list."  
  
"List? What list?" Alec asks, genuinely puzzled for once.  
  
"You know what I want. The virus list. Who was on it?" Max demmands.  
  
Alecs drops a cold sweat, then says, "About that. I only had the original list."  
  
"The list of the targets or the carriers?" Max demmands, menacingly approaching him.  
  
"Carriers. One was Solid Snake or something, the other ones... I don't remember them  
too well. I do remember that 3 of them died this week, and I read about them in the paper."  
Alec explains.  
  
"Tell me something new!" Max demmands, grabbing the lamp.  
  
"Well, you probably didn't hear, but last night, the somebody affected with the same  
exact virus as you was shot in a club." Alec says.  
  
"And...?" Max asks.  
  
"Well, I got a lead on the shooter." Alec says.  
  
"What the hell are you waiting for?!? An invitation?" Max shouts, tossing Alec his  
jacket.  
  
The two make their way on a wild goose chase. Snake is too smart to leave proper   
trails behind. The farthest they made was Kat, the woman he had slept with the night before.  
So Alec and Max both go home. Max goes to Logan's apartment, instead.  
  
As Max tries to open the door, she spots some smoke coming from the nearby strairway.  
She coughs a bit, then starts knocking on the door. Logan might be on his wheelchair again.  
Just then, Snake, with his red-colored shades, with the ability to track down the secondary  
and tertiary carriers, spots a bright spot next to Logan's room. He hops up the stairs and   
sees Max, who looks back at him. Snake reaches into his jacket quickly, thinking that Max  
was one of the carriers, who wanted to infect Logan's girlfriend and kill her. Snake reaches  
for his gun, and he grabs it quickly. The door opens and Logan greets Max. He then sees  
Snake swinging his gun at Max, and watches as he points it at her.  
  
"NOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Logan shouts, almost knowing that he is too late.  
  
A loud gunshot can be heard, ringing into the night, in that neighborhood. The body  
count is 1 that night. Can they change the past; what has happened? Maybe they can't.  
  
To be continued... 


	2. Insanity

Disclaimer:  
I do not own Dark Angel nor do I own Metal Gear Solid. I do not own them nor the  
characters portrayed in them. I do not claim to own them. Don't sue me, please,  
I'm really really poor. By the way, this piece of work is Copyrighted by   
Rocky Valkyrie 2002, all rights reserved etc. etc. Rockythehercules@yahoo.com  
  
AUTOR'S NOTE:  
This fanfic is not very good. I can tell you that in advance. Any and all   
convulsions, regurgitations, vomiting, swearing and etc. cannot be attributed  
to me or my Fic. Legally. Please? ;;^_~ Enjoy the fic, if and only if you can.  
Also, I aplogize for my last fics, which was really REALLY bad. Smoking is   
hazardous both to your health and to your sanity. Especially weed.  
  
The Future is Bleak- Insanity  
Based loosely on Dark Angel, and includes characters from Metal Gear Solid  
By Rocky Valkyrie  
  
A man kneels over a dead body. He regrets everything; whether it is his  
fault or not is another matter. Tears roll down his cheeks. He sniffs and sobs,  
but he doesn't know what to do. If there is anything that can be done. There is  
nothing that can be done, or so he thinks, and no way possible is known.  
  
Someone else comes up behind him; casting a shadow over his sad figure.  
A hand can be felt on his shoulder, a bit of warmth for a fraction of a second,  
but just as the hand perches on the shoulder, he turns his body in that direction  
and swats the hand away with his own. He doesn't turn his gaze, though, his gaze   
of stone, fixed solely on the still-warm dead in front of him. Soon the body would  
be cold, and there is nothing that can be done to remedy the problem. There is none.  
Not now, not before, and never again. Regret is eternal, and death, is forever.  
  
Logan stands up; he picks Max up as he does this. He feels like killing  
Snake for what he did, but in some twisted way, he understands why Snake killed  
her. Snake walks away with a heavy heart; without saying a word, his greif and  
his sorrow and regret is pronounced. Max lies upon Logan's arms, covered with his  
long sleeves, which protect him from her deadly touch. She lies in place, as she  
is carried, with grace, beauty still hanging upon her sweet face. Even in death,  
she carries dignity with her.  
  
Logan sets her on his couch. That will not be her final resting place.   
He reaches for her face, he wants to touch it; but he hesitates, and then pulls his  
hand back. He cannot touch her. He balls his hand into a fist. He punches the floor,  
frustrated, more tears. Logan is shivering in place; he's already breathing heavy.  
Logan looks at Max, her face shows no regret. He lowers his face down to hers, as if  
to kiss her, but a warm hand grabs his shoulder impatiently. It tears him away from  
her, turns him sideways to face Solid Snake. The two look at each other with frustration,  
anger, almost. Logan looks up at Snake, teary-eyed, and Snake looks at Logan, his  
eyes telling a million different stories.  
  
All this time, not a word is spoken, and the world has gone silent. All  
the sounds seem to have no gravity. The two look at each other, silently, unmoving,  
exhasperated. Both are breathing heavy, their heads feeling like they are throbbing.   
Breaking the silence, Logan pulls his shoulder away from Snake, turning his attention  
back to the lifeless beauty that once was his love.  
  
Suddenly, Logan wishes that all those fairy tales about dragons and princesses  
and magical apples were true. That if he kissed her, she would awaken. But he knows the  
truth; he knows otherwise. If he kisses her, all that will happen is that he will die.  
  
"I'm sorry Logan..." Snake begins to apologize, kneeling down as well.  
  
"I know your excuses!" Logan interjects, turning his head only ever so slightly  
in Snake's general direction, "You'll say that there was no other way! I know! I said   
all those things, too..."  
  
Snake almost cannot respond to that. He looks down at the ground, trying to lose  
any possible eye contact, "...but, you know how true it is."  
  
"No!" Logan insists, "'Cause you know what? It's NOT true! None of it is..." Tears  
start to roll down his cheeks again, his eyes are blood red, his expression mourning.  
  
Snake looks away, saying, "If it wasn't her, it would've been others..."  
  
"Like you?!?" Logan insists, "Is that what you were going to say?"  
  
"Logan, you know I--" Snake pleads, genuinely sad and regretting.  
  
"So what you're really worried about is you!" Logan shouts, standing up and totally  
turning his attention to his old friend.  
  
"Not just me!" Snake shouts, raising his voice to Logan's level, getting up as well,  
his frustration also gradually turning into anger.  
  
"Get out of my sight..." Logan says, looking back down at Max.  
  
Snake, frustrated and now almost angry, walks out. Eyes Only is left alone with his  
once lover. He kneels back down, holding her hands, kissing them tenderly through her gloves.  
Logan cries again, holding on dearly to Max's hand, holding on with both of his hands. He puts  
his head on her hand, crying into it. He whispers to her; so softly that not even the living   
could hear. He says this while looking deeply into her gracefully passed face.  
  
"Max," Logan whispers, "For all the time we knew each other, I've loved you. If not  
for our... our... 'coniditon--' well, and even with it, I don't know... I've been too shy,  
too scared, and-- that I wasted both our lives. Neither of us said it, even though both of us   
knew that we felt it. And now... and now, it's too late. For me, for you, for both of us. I   
just wish... I could have-- just once, I wish... I could've told you. But it's too late."  
  
Logan stops talking altogether. He turns around and just sits, on the front part of   
the couch, looking into space, while not looking at anything, he is examining everything. His  
life, the life he's lived as Eyes Only, his relationship since he met Max, his whole life since  
they met. Despite everything else, she was the only thing he had. And now, that... only thing  
that he had, is lost. There's nothing without her; not one thing mattered if she was not there.  
And so he sits up, then he turns around, crawling in place, and faces Max again. He looks at  
her face; her eyes are closed, her expression is peaceful, as it has never been before, and  
her beautiful pinkish red, lips seem more beautiful that when she was alive. He bends his head  
down, and puts his lips on her.  
  
The feeling is an almost indescribable one. Shivers travel up and down his spine in   
that breif fraction of a moment, and from his lips, down to his chest another feeling travels.  
The feeling coming from his chest is a bright, white-hot, grasping, pressurized push, like his  
blood is flowing in reverse. He can not feel his legs anymore; his arms also have lost feeling  
and control, his heart, which he can still feel beating, and his lips, which are stuck on hers,  
are the only things left that he still can feel. A great, overwhelming feeling takes over his  
chest area, suffocating him, like a cloud of needles that encolses over his chest. Logan truly  
has lived the kiss of death, a cold kiss, wondrous in its pain and pleasure. Sweet ecstasy but  
also death incarnate; the life is sucked right out of him, but it does not enter her. The two  
once lovers die in their peace.  
  
And all along Snake is watching them, in their melancholy love. Star-crossed as any   
two have ever been. He could stopped him, but he did not. He understands Logan's reason, he  
understands his pain. Snake himself once was faced with the same choice, although he did   
choose differently. Life alone, or death with love? Back then, his choice was so clear to  
him; it made no sense to do otherwise. He had a future, but all they had was each other. That  
is the difference, Snake tells himself. That is the difference...  
  
Snake walks down the empty steps and out of the building. He walks down the street to  
a bar. All the while, he is smoking heavily, anxiously, and shivering beyond control. He tosses  
the cigarette bud on the ground, and he steps on it. He is frustrated and angry and even more,  
he's disappointed; in himself, in Logan, and in his choice. Logan's last words to him ring  
over and over, repeating like an echo, in his head. Snake walks quietly into the bar.  
  
Snake orders a few shots and drinks them immediately. He is sitting on the corner stool  
next to the bar, right next to the bartender. Across the room from him, someone seems to be   
signaling to him. The man is greeting him, or trying to, and starts to come over. Snake orders  
another shot, and as soon as it comes, he downs it like it's nothing. The man finally makes his  
way over.  
  
"Look. We've gotta talk." the man says to Snake.  
  
Snake wipes his face with his arm and answers, "What is it, kid?"  
  
"C'mon... let's go outside." he suggests.  
  
"Who are you, kid? What do you want?" Snake demmands of him.  
  
"Alec. Let's go outside..." Alec says, waving his arms, signaling for Snake to come.  
  
Snake follows Alec outside, and at the door, Snake stops for a while, causing Alec to  
turn around, to stop and watch what Snake is doing. Snake lights another cigarette and starts  
to smoke. He sucks the smoke in deep, and in a brilliant puff, Snake lets a lot of the smoke  
out. Alec puts his hand to his head, shaking his head disappointedly.  
  
"Know what kid?" Snake asks, between puffs.  
  
"What's that?" Alec says, just waiting for Snake to finish his cigarette.  
  
Snake puffs out, then says, hoarsely, "You remind me of me, a long time ago. You know  
more than you're saying. Spill it."  
  
"You're right. I know about..." Alec's voice starts to break, and he clears his throat.  
  
"...what I did? Up there?" Snake says, pointing to Logan's building.  
  
Alec nods, then he says, "Sh-- she... I... it's... What I-- wha- what I did to her..."  
  
"I know what you did." Snake says, looking away, distantly.  
  
"I... I couldn't do anything for her then. But I'll do what I can now." Alec demmands.  
  
"And what exactly do you plan on doing?" Snake asks, turning back completely at him.  
  
"I don't know yet. But I will do something..." Alec claims.  
  
"Wishful thinking. Just like I was, back then." Snake says.  
  
"What? Are you just giving up, then?" Alec asks.  
  
"Are you kidding? I have an idea, come with me..." Snake says.  
  
Snake goes to his pickup and grabs his cell phone out of his glove compartment. He dials  
some number, then asks Otacon a few questions. After he is answered, he motions for Alec to come  
with him. The both ride in the pickup to FOX-HOUND's HQ's entrance. The go down the elevator and  
meet Otacon in a meeting hall sort of room.   
  
"So it works, right, Otacon?" Snake asks.  
  
"Well, in theory..." Otacon starts, waving his finger up and down.  
  
"You haven't tested it yet?" Snake states.  
  
"Well, we've tried it one way. Not quite the way you wanted to. And it has only worked   
in one direction," Otacon explains, "but I think that with my direction, you could possibly  
go and come back."  
  
"Explain," Alec demmands, approaching Otacon anxiously.  
  
"Well, the idea is simple. The machine, codenamed Sulta, freezes the users, and we   
believe that all of time is like a chess board, so we can move the piece to a certain point  
on the board at a particular event." Otacon tries to explains.  
  
"So you freeze us, and put us somewhere else?" Alec asks, trying to rationalize.  
  
"Sort of. We also believe that all of time exists in a single moment, and that all  
time coexists, so really you're there and here at the same time. Like nothing happened."   
Otacon explains.  
  
"So how do you know that the other experiment worked?" asks Snake, hesitantly.  
  
"Well, we didn't send him too far into the future." Otacon says, giggling, "We  
sent him to 10 minutes later. And he comes back, in the same spot, after 10 minutes."  
  
"Really?" Alec asks.  
  
"Well, not exactly 10 minutes later. I think he was a few minutes late..." Otacon  
says, "...but not too much."  
  
"So there's a risk?" Snake asks.  
  
"Well, as there is with everything. Are you willing to do it, though?" Otacon asks.  
  
"I'm doing it." Alec proposes.  
  
"Then I'm going, too." Snake says.  
  
"Let's do it, then." Otacon says.  
  
To be continued... 


	3. Don't Speak

Disclaimer:  
I do not own Dark Angel nor do I own Metal Gear Solid. I do not own them nor the  
characters portrayed in them. I do not claim to own them. Don't sue me, please,  
I'm really really poor. By the way, this piece of work is Copyrighted by   
Rocky Valkyrie 2002, all rights reserved etc. etc. Rockythehercules@yahoo.com  
  
AUTOR'S NOTE:  
This fanfic is not very good. I can tell you that in advance. Any and all   
convulsions, regurgitations, vomiting, swearing and etc. cannot be attributed  
to me or my Fic. Legally. Please? ;;^_~ Enjoy the fic, if and only if you can.  
Also, I aplogize for my last fics, which was really REALLY bad. Smoking is   
hazardous both to your health and to your sanity. Especially weed.  
  
The Future is Bleak- Don't Speak  
Based loosely on Dark Angel, and includes characters from Metal Gear Solid  
By Rocky Valkyrie  
  
"What the hell's the hold up, Emmerich?" Snake demmands, sounding like  
an angry redneck.  
  
"Patience, Snake, the best things only come with time." Emmerich   
scolds, without looking, but waving his finger.   
  
"I'm tired of waiting. We've got to get moving." Snake says, turning  
Emmerich to face him.  
  
"Shh!" is Emmerich's reply, "The past isn't going anywhere."  
  
"Damn scientists!" Snake mutters, letting Emmerich go.  
  
"I'm not exactly a humanist, but I can tell you're angry." Emmerich  
says, methodically, "But you can't let your anger impair your judgement."  
  
"I'll impair you!" Alec shouts, coming at Emmerich. But he's stopped  
by Snake, who grabs his arm. Alec looks back to see Snake, Snake is there,  
shaking his head slowly, almost fatherly.  
  
Emmerich is only distracted momentarily by him, before a second is up,  
he returns to making maintenance checks on the machine. Then he says, "Keep  
it down. Smart man trying to work here."  
  
Alec turns around heads for the stairs. Frustrated, he punches the wall  
to the side of the stairs before heading back up. Snake walks to the stairs,  
also, and follows behind Alec, though not too close.  
  
When Snake gets up to the end of the stairs, he doesn't find Alec.   
Just a bit concerned, Snake discreetly starts looking for him. Pretending not  
to look for him, just walking nonchalantly, Snake starts to look for Alec. He  
finds one of the doors to one of the outdoors training facilities open. He  
walks through the door and sees Alec, wailing away on a defenseless tree.  
  
"However hard you it, it's not gonna hit back." Snake blurts out.   
  
Not seeming to hear him, Alec hits it again, but then says, "What  
the hell are we waiting for?"  
  
"Otacon needs to check the thing out or it might not work," Snake says.  
  
"What's taking him so long, then?" Alec demmands, punching the tree   
again.  
  
"That's not what you're really mad about, is it?" Snake asks, sincerely.  
  
Alec doesn't say anything yet, but looks down and away, balling his fist,  
"What do you know?"  
  
"I know, I know. You're pissed cause you did it to her. And that you  
couldn't do anything about it..." Snake says, guessing.  
  
"Yeah, but... but that's not it..." Alec says.  
  
A voice interrupts from the doorway, "It's that he's afraid he might   
not be able to do anything, that he might not change anything."  
  
"I was going to say it myself," is Alec's response.  
  
"Are you done, Emmerich?" Snake asks.  
  
"All we need to do it is you two." Otacon answers.  
  
The three descend down the stairs, and the two test subjects follow   
intsructions, and eventually, they are put in a small room. Otacon proceeds   
to press some buttons and do some other things, then he presses a big red   
button. The room that Snake and Alec are in airlocks and starts to let some  
cold air come out at them. The two freeze in seconds, and before long, they  
disappear. Otacon inspects the room, but they're not there anymore. He   
sighs and hopes for the best.  
  
In an instant that feels like forever, the unlikely pair reappear  
in the not-too-distant past. Snake recognizes the place as the diner where  
he and Logan met just that day, but a few days, 3 days, prior to their  
meeting. No one seemed to have noticed, and the two just sit there quietly,  
trying to collect themselves. Snake knows the date because of the black-  
and-white swimsuit poster-calendar on the wall with "x"s on it.   
  
Snake gets up inconspicuously and steps out, and Alec follows suit  
a few moments later. The two walk around for a while, wondering if the  
thing had really worked. Alec is clueless about the time. Snake walks with  
assurance, not anywhere really, just around, watching the roads closely,  
with careful inspection.  
  
Then they see something that causes both their throats to go dry.   
It is Max, living, and she is walking carelessly down the road, talking  
to Original Cindy, not really watching where she is going. Snake hesitates  
for just a half a moment, and then starts moving forward again. Alec   
retreats into the shadows, but Snake pushes on, and when the two are very  
close, Snake's arm brushes against Max's. Suddenly there's a sharp pain  
in his arm.   
  
A cold sweeps through his body, then it is replaced by a fierce  
heat, burning right underneath his skin, waiting to burst out into flames.  
Snake falls down, unconscious, and loses all of his energy in a single  
moment. But because of the condition of his immune system due to the   
unusual cyrogenics performed on him, instead of killing him, the new  
string of FoxDie just mutates into a newer one. But Snake gets up,   
confused, unharmed, and, still puzzled, walks away to a nearby park to  
sit down and relax.   
  
Alec follows not far behind. When Snake reaches the park, he  
quickly finds a bench and sits on it, and starts sitting there, gloomily,  
rubbing his temples. Alec comes and without actually looking at Snake,  
and without looking as if he is looking at Snake, sits down next to  
him.  
  
"What happened, Snake?" Alec asks, cold sweat dropping from his  
crumpled brow.  
  
"I don't know. I should've gone..." Snake says, off in his own  
world somewhere.  
  
"Dying won't bring them back, man," Alec says, sounding like he  
is giving advice, "and what happened?"  
  
"I don't know. Must have been something to do with that time  
machine thing," Snake muses.  
  
"Well, whatever it was, it saved your ass, and now we got to  
go stop you from killing her." Alec says, sounding like he's in charge.  
  
"Well, we seem to be 3 days too soon," Snake says, confusing  
Alec a bit, "But that just gives us time to plan."  
  
"What do you mean? How do you know that? You wearing some sort  
of crazy watch thing that went back in time?" Alec asks.  
  
"I looked at the calendar at the diner." Snake states plainly.  
  
"So how do we stop it?" Alec asks.  
  
"Well, we've got to make plans." Snake says.  
  
"What kind of plans?" Alec asks.  
  
"Whatever, just remember that if we touch or come in touch with  
ourselves here, we might change history for the worst." Snake explains.  
  
"Right, so no future-spoiling for me or you, right. Wait, I think  
I have an idea..." Alec says.  
  
"An idea? Pfft! Let's hear it, kid." Snake says cynically.  
  
"Why don't we tell Max or Logan?" Alec says, stroking his nose.  
  
"Not Max, she'll think we're crazy. Maybe Logan, but only if  
there's no other way." Snake says, his hands cupped in front of his face.  
  
"Right. Like there's any other way now." Alec says, not leaning  
back and putting his hands at the back of his head.   
  
"We have three days." Snake explains.  
  
"Right now we need to go get a room or two to stay in." Alec says.  
  
"Well, then let's do it." Snake announces.  
  
So the pair, still dazed from their trip, make their way to a   
nearby hotel. Not the one where Snake had chosen to stay in that town   
before, but still a low-class place, just about the same quality as the  
one he had stayed in before. Alec whines a little and wretches at the  
tiolet's condition, but they decide to stay there. Just for the few  
days.  
  
The next day, Alec wakes up alone. He walks around for a while in  
the room, looking for Snake, but he doesn't find him. Snake had left much  
earlier to scout around and snoop around to find out more about Max and  
Logan's daily routines. Alec himself starts to just slum lazily about the  
room.  
  
Alec never wanted to be a hero, well, he may have a bit, but what  
really drove him to travel back in time to save Max is guilt. Alec feels  
responsible, although his conscious self may not know, for Max not being  
able to touch Logan. He doesn't remember, or maybe his memory is selective,  
and forgets what he chooses not to remember, like his reasoning for doing   
that to Max. It kills a part of him, although he doesn't know it exactly.  
  
More likely than not, it was out of jealousy and frustration. He  
was, as he knew, about to be Max's perfect mate, and it was taken away,  
all because of him. This destiny promised to Alec, seemingly bleak as it  
was, Alec anticipated it, Alec waited for, he wanted it, because it was  
better than he had.  
  
Now Alec starts to yawn, his mouth lazily gaping open, letting a  
lot of air and light into it. He sinks deeper into the chair that he's   
sitting on, and his shoulders begin to slouch forward. He blinks his eyes  
a bit, repeatedly, and his head nods down, but he regains consciousness  
in an instant, waking himself up.  
  
Alec gets up and puts on the parts of his wardrobe that he was  
not wearing while he was sleeping. He just walks out and goes down, and  
after, he starts heading for the Crash. He walks slowly over there and  
starts to drink. But he leaves before the other him gets off of work and  
comes to drink. Alec then remembers something: That was the day that he  
paid more money for his drinks than he had owed. Maybe this HAD happened  
before already. Were they really changing history?  
  
There's no time for Alec to think, and he goes off to look for  
Snake. Snake is busy trying to tail Logan and Max simultaneously. But   
after 9 hours of going to and fro tailing the duo, Snake retreats to  
a local bar. Just then, he sees someone he hadn't seen in a while, a   
fellow ex-FOX-HOUND.   
  
Snake greets him, "Hey, Etoile."  
  
The quite tall, dark woman turns around, "Snake! What're you   
doing here?"  
  
"Nothing much," Snake says, approaching her.  
  
"Still up to your old antics?" Etoile asks, "You're still in our  
industry even when you've been retired for a while."  
  
"Can you tell?" Snake says, feeling a bit guilty.  
  
"Of course," Etoile answers him, "So what you want here."  
  
"Ah, not much, it's not really business right now." Snake says.  
  
"Rescue mission?" she questions.  
  
Snake sighs, orders a beer, and then answers, "You know it."  
  
"Who?" she asks.  
  
"Remember Logan?" Snake puts out there.  
  
Etoile nods, then asks, "From the 'Ruse' op? Of course, he was  
a little doll back then."  
  
"Not just Ruse, but that's the only one we were all in together."  
Snake adds on, not really needed, but seemingly the right thing to say,  
"Well, it's got to do with him."  
  
"Yeah, I heard he lives around here. So it's him, or is it his  
request?" she asks.  
  
"Not his request--" Snake admits, softly.  
  
"...but against it?" Etoile interrupts.  
  
"Well, it sort of is him. And someone else, but it's my own   
choice, Etoile," Snake adds to his admittance.  
  
"Ouch. Those are tough, the 'save them from themselves' ones,"  
she says, in a smart-aleck tone.  
  
"Nothing worse than those," Snake finally adds on.  
  
"You sure, sweetie pie?" Etoile asks.  
  
"Yeah," Snake says, finishing his beer quickly, "so you wanna  
take me home?"  
  
"Is that an offer?" Etoile asks, raising her eyebrow.  
  
"No, it's a request. I need to get back to the place I'm staying."  
Snake answers, plainly.  
  
Pouting, Etoile takes Snake to her car and the two drive off.   
Then, later, when they are about 2 blocks away from his hotel, Etoile   
stops the car and they walk to a park on the way. They start to talk  
a bit about the past, reminicing about the good and bad times. Then,  
the night is ended with an innocent kiss to the cheek from Snake to  
Etoile, and then Snake hurries off.  
  
Just moments after Snake is out of sight, Etoile falls dead  
down on the cold floor. Etoile was one of the original carriers of the  
FoxDie, and Snake's FoxDie had mutated to kill all bearers of the  
FoxDie. Including Max or himself if either of them got in contact with  
him. But unlike the others', his now-mutated version incubates in  
minutes, not seconds.  
  
Upon Snake's arrival home, he finds the place empty. He goes  
to sleep with many thoughts in his head. What was he to do? He has  
so many ideas that plagues him in his sleep, as is his wont. Snake  
sleeps, but finds no respite in it. A few hours later, a drunk Alec  
comes home, feeling useless. He falls on the floor and instantly  
falls asleep.  
  
The following day, it is Snake who is left by Alec. Alec   
leaves early that day because he remembers what had happened in his  
drunkeness that night. He goes to Max to apologize, and after a   
short, but bitter argument, she forgives him. Hours later, though,  
the other Alec falls victim to her anger yet again, but that time  
just as usual.  
  
Snake wakes up, takes a bath, then goes to a local department  
store to buy clothes. He dresses up quite nicely, and pays with a   
fake credit card. He then goes out again to fill his daily routine  
needs. He plans for the next day, quietly, in a library. Solid   
Snake is not a man who rushes into things, and now he would show  
his prowess in careful planning.  
  
Alec has now won the forgiveness of Max, and he wipes his  
sweatdrops. He then leaves before the other Alec comes. So with  
that done, Alec leaves the workplace to think of things to do   
about their 'situation.' How would he save Max, he asks himself.  
But he has no answers, he never had them. Deep in his hearts, he  
knows that he loves Max, and he would do anything in his power  
to help her, but... he can't help but feel helpless in that sort  
of situation.   
  
Snake, on the other hand, has forgotten all about his guilt  
and is now calm, collecting and confident again. He feels the adrenaline  
surging through him like it did when he was younger and just starting  
out at FOX-HOUND. He maps out a course of action, 3 of them, actually,  
and he knows what he is to do. Snake then returns to the hotel and  
waits for Alec. When Alec does come back, Snake greets him gruffly and  
then he breifs him on what to do. Alec is almost remedied of his   
feeling of helplessness as snake reassures him.  
  
The next morning, the pair wake up early and change, then  
they set off to work. Alec goes and intercepts Max on her way to work  
and he is to be with her when Logan calls her. He follows her around,  
but when he sees his other self close by, he leaves her side. That   
just happens to be the time that Max sees fit to ditch him and start  
hopping on rooftops. After she takes the call, she is reminded about  
the mysterious deaths. Now she goes looking for Alec, but finds the  
'other' Alec.  
  
Alec starts to swear briefly, but then ducks out and starts  
looking for Snake. At about the same time, but just a little while  
before, Snake is watching himself and Logan talk. He is standing   
outside, smoking. Snake's cell rings, and he answers it.  
  
"What?" he asks.  
  
"I lost her. The other me and her found each other." Alec  
answers.  
  
"Dammit! I got to go stop myself now." he says, but just as  
he is saying that, the other Snake drives off too fast for him to  
chase.  
  
"What happened, Snake?" Alec asks.  
  
"Let's go to Logan's. It'll all end there." Snake says.  
  
"What do you mean?" Alec asks again.  
  
"That way we have 2 chances," Snake explains, starting to walk  
now.  
  
"I don't get it, but I'm still going," Alec says, "as long as  
there's a way for us to help her."  
  
When Alec gets almost to Logan's floor, he meets Snake at the  
stairway, since Snake was waiting for him. The two walk those final   
steps together and Snake knocks on the door. Logan hurries to the door,  
expecting Max there early. When he opens it, his expression turns to  
disappointment. Logan invites the two in, and he asks Snake about  
Alec, and he just shrugs it off.  
  
"What brings you two here?" Logan inquires.  
  
Snake closes the door and Alec is the one to answer, "Well, it's  
sort of about Max."  
  
"Didn't I just talk to you about that, Snake?" Logan asks.  
  
"One thing that neither of us knew then was that she's one of  
the problems." Snake answers, vaguely.  
  
"What do you mean?" Logan is puzzled.  
  
"Well, her virus can kill other people, not just you, like Snake  
here." Alec says, pointing to Snake.  
  
The three argue for a long while, and don't agree upon anything.  
Alec and Snake keep telling Logan what is going to happen and how they   
could stop it, but Logan fails to believe them. In failure, the two then  
exit and are going to just try to stop Snake.  
  
The two start their walk down the stairs, quiet. Both of them  
have not said a word to each other since they left Logan's room. The   
tension is thicker than mud, and then descend down the stairs, slowly,  
and time seems to be slowing down all around them. The first to pass   
them by is Max, and they both turn to look at her. But Max just keeps  
walking, up and up. They turn back down to see Alec running down the  
stairs. As they descend further, they look down the stairway. Snake  
then sees himself. The other Snake doesn't see him, though and Snake  
starts to run down to stop him. But, just as they are only a couple of  
floors away, both Snake and Alec disappear as if they had never been  
there.  
  
The two fall on the ground of Otacon's lab. Snake gets up and  
starts telling Otacon to send them back, shouting obscenities and all.  
Pounding on the ground and the machine, frustrated, trying to get back.  
When he turns his head back, tears in his eyes, to look at Otacon, he  
sees that he's not there. Neither is most of the equipment. While Snake  
and Alec were gone, FOX-HOUND had found out about this rogue operation  
and taken most of the equipment away to be shipped off. The piece that  
Snake had been pounding was attached to the floor, and so it could not  
be taken.  
  
"YOU!" Snake says, angry, tears in his eyes, his face turned red,  
"You knew about this all along."  
  
"I thought..." Alec says, tears in his eyes, looking away in guilt,  
"...I thought... maybe, maybe... we could... do something different."  
  
Snake now feels truly helpless. He sits there, on the floor, with  
a face painted with guilt, with tears. Alec walks away and closes the door,  
which is the only reamining light source of the dark room. Despite all his  
best efforts, Snake has failed. Just then, his cell phone rings. Snake  
picks it up.  
  
"Snake?!?" the voice is familliar.  
  
"...what? Aren't you... isn't this..." Snake says, not believing  
what he is hearing.  
  
"I know, I'm as surprised as you are. My doc, Sam Karr can explain  
better, tough" Logan says, handing the phone to the doctor.  
  
"Well, you see," the doctor says, "Because of his exposure to your  
mutated strain of the virus, Logan then was not as susceptible to the virus  
as he was before all that. He still lost all his energy and things, but he  
didn't die." the doctor explains.  
  
"But... the girl..." Snake says, voice breaking.  
  
"Well, they were lucky I was in the neighborhood, and just after you  
left, I called paramedics, and she was saved." the doctor explains.  
  
"So... they're going to be alright?" Snake asks.  
  
"Yes... and now your mutated FoxDie saved Logan." the doctor says,  
reassuringly.  
  
"But... how did you know about that and all of this?" Snake asks,  
more puzzled than ever.  
  
"Don't worry about that... you're going to figure it out eventually,"  
the doctor answers. And Snake does understand.  
  
The End. 


End file.
